Hey Alicia,isn't cold and dark the right winter experience? I think subtropical weather is overrated...How many bikes are you shipping? I see you're taking the Brompton and the Kona.I think you should take along a box of bike bells. In my experience Americans find bike bells very amusing.Is the Brompton in a Brompton case, or did you find some other case that fits?Well, if it fit in your hand luggage you could cycle down the aisles =)Anyway, I hope things will go as planned.And I will soon be reading about lycra-less cycling in California.Veel geluk und guten Flug!

I shipped the Kona via sea freight in a giant box, only taking the front wheel off. It arrived a few days ago- My vintage Koga-miyata was fully disassembled and I took it in a smaller box on a flight over christmas to Iowa. From there, it is being shipped to California... and I hope to find a good mechanic to help me put it back together again! I have a large suitcase that just fits the Brompton. It's not a special suitcase or specially made for the Brompton. Once inside, the whole thing is just under the weight limit. I'm paying for it as a second bag, rather than as a bicycle (56 euros vs. 100 euros). Thanks for the wishes! Cycling without lycra indeed. :)

Ah, that's interesting. So the American Kona has sailed back home. Must have been a strange feeling, thinking of your bike going over the Atlantic somewhere.I would like to see pictures of your Koga-Miyata jigsaw puzzle. In various degrees of assembledness.